To Rome with Love (TV series)
| To Rome with Love | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Joan O'Brien |
| Directed by | Earl Bellamy Frederick de Cordova James Sheldon |
| Starring | John Forsythe Kay Medford Peggy Mondo Vito Scotti Walter Brennan |
| Composer | Frank De Vol |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 48 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Don Fedderson |
| Producer | Edmund L. Hartmann |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | Don Fedderson Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 28, 1969 – September 1, 1971 |
To Rome with Love is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 28, 1969, to September 1, 1971.
Synopsis
To Rome with Love is the story of widowed college professor Michael Endicott, who decided to leave his native Iowa following the death of his wife and accept a new position as an instructor at the American Overseas School of Rome. The culture shock of his children in reacting to their new environment, and to an extent, his own, provided the main humor in the series. Family situations provided most of the rest. Early on, much of this came from Endicott's single sister, Harriet, who followed them to Rome, apparently for the sole purposes of dissuading them from living there and to cajole them into returning to Iowa. Harriet soon departed, but her place was taken shortly afterward by Andy Pruitt, Endicott's father-in-law and the children's grandfather. He came to Rome for a brief visit, but wound up staying indefinitely.
Broadcast history
| Season | Time slot (ET) |
|---|---|
| 1969–70 | Sunday at 7:30 pm |
| 1970–71 | Tuesday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 1-15) Wednesday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 16-22) |
Reception
Originally airing on Sunday nights, the show never garnered the ratings CBS had hoped for. Also, Kay Medford as Aunt Harriet did not catch on with viewers and, as a result, was phased out of the series shortly after its premiere. Nevertheless, the network agreed to renew the show for a second season. To Rome With Love was switched to Tuesdays at 9:30 in September, 1970.
In order to give Forsythe a strong co-star, Walter Brennan joined the cast as Michael Endicott's father-in-law, Andy Pruitt. However, the second season did even worse than the first. In January, 1971, in an attempt to salvage the series, CBS shifted the show to Wednesdays to make room for a new CBS sitcom: All In The Family. The move did not help, and the series was canceled in the spring of 1971.
Crossover episodes
"Roman Affair" (Season 2, Episode 4) features Anissa Jones and Johnnie Whitaker as their Family Affair characters Buffy and Jody, respectively. "To Rome With Love" (Season 2, Episode 6) features William Demarest, Don Grady and Tina Cole as Uncle Charley, Robbie Douglas and Katie Douglas respectively from My Three Sons.
Cast
- John Forsythe as Michael Endicott
- Kay Medford as Harriet Endicott (first season only)
- Walter Brennan as Andy Pruitt (second season only)
- Peggy Mondo as Mama Vitale
- Vito Scotti as Nico
- Joyce Menges as Alison Endicott
- Susan Neher as Penny Endicott
- Melanie Fullerton as Mary Jane "Pokey" Endicott
References
- Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows